Media Preview Event – National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)Days before the much-anticipated Grand Opening, The National Museum of African American History and Culture offers an unforgettable preview of exhibits.

What is the appropriate measure of anticipation when any one of us, singularly, has patiently awaited the release of a movie, the generation of a mobile device, vacation or planned adventure?

Are our friends and family deserving of some lofty honor?… The Prestigious Medal of Not Sighing When We Introduce The Topic Yet Again.

Or. Perhaps.

We are well within the acceptable range of anticipation, represented by large X’s marked across our calendars (Yes, real paper calendars… don’t judge me), planned Personal & Vacation Days with employers, DVRs set to record Queen Sugar & Atlanta, preemptive calls to relatives to warn them that we will not be home, tithing one week in advance and filling the gas tank the night before….. And why?

Because the Grand Opening of the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) represents more than our singular interests. The NMAAHC represents the raw and untempered will to survive… The lives of ancestors sacrificed, stolen, discarded and hated… And we may now better share their journeys and ours. We may again delve deeper into the lives of those who have paved the road of our success and invested in our futures.

So… What is the appropriate measure of anticipation?… There isn’t one.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum established in 2003. The museum’s building, designed by David Adjaye, is currently under construction on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Early efforts to establish a federally owned museum featuring African American history and culture can be traced to 1915, although the modern push for such an organization did not begin until the 1970s.

After years of little success, a much more serious legislative push began in 1988 that led to authorization of the museum in 2003. A site was selected in 2006, and a museum design approved in 2009. President Barack Obama helped break ground for the building on February 22, 2012. First concrete was poured in November 2012, and construction will be complete in April 2016. Smithsonian officials have announced that the museum will open on September 24, 2016. (Wikipedia)